Morningside Devotionals

Pro 11:26 He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him: but blessing [shall be] upon the head of him that selleth [it].  What we just experienced in America some months back when the banks were given large amounts of money to "bail them out," and then, turned that money, in many instances, inward rather than outward into the economy may be a proving out of this?  Proverbs often asserts a larger issue of wisdom behind the saying, here we see a principle involving the conduct of one who has possessions, and not just possessions, but in this instance, corn, a grain which when it falls to the ground - brings forth more as it dies, as we are told by Jesus.  It isn't hard to see where a person who hoarded the corn that could multiply if used, wouldn't be appreciated by many people, on the other hand, a person who made sure it was out in  the community, so it could multiply, would be appreciated.  Which type of person are you?

Science, (which you may know as computer science, or biological science, or DNA genetics, or medicine; there are many branches to science; would you agree with that- science), dominates our lives today.  Without the technology which makes our lives what they are, we are in real trouble.  We have become so dependent upon the technology that we don't resist the scientific influence into other areas of our lives.  For example, relationships, if they (watch this) "don't work," that is a scientific statement, it is treating the holy relationship of people, whether it is love or simply respect for each other; it is treating that relationship as a hypothesis, so that it is broken into two pieces- one works, the other doesn't, and if it "doesn't work?"  What happens is like a petri dish with bad culture, the relationship gets tossed out, that's about as involved as some people are in the most intimate of all relationships, love.  While we hypocritically...

There has been in the last few years a drastic change in Christian thinking and feelings, a drastic distancing from the warmth of the Body of Christ, flesh intermixed with the Holy Spirit of God, toward, groupthink and standardized behaviors.  More psychology than spirituality; and yet, in it's danger, is also the very thing that must be the solution to much of what we have allowed to happen.  It is not about being accountable, that's a term that a jailer uses when they are making sure the inmates are in the right cell!  Rather it is about surrendered life, the giving over of ones will to the only King one needs to willingly serve.  Now don't think this is semantics, because at the very heart of God is a want for those who should love Him to understand both His mercy and grace, neither of which are present when someone demands to know why you haven't done what you were supposed to do- that's not life in Christ, that's bondage in Egypt!  For all those who believe...

Ever take a test where you got an A, but you knew good and well that one of your answers was incomplete? It may seem hard to believe, have you ever been asked a question that you thought you knew the answer to, so you gave it, and it was right, but later, you realized, the answer was not totally right, even though it satisfied the question? This is the harder aspect of what we are walking in today, as Christian's, we're being fooled into believing we are doing what is right, that we are following Christ, but what's happening is we are being led along a path that is not the path Christ wants us, Christian's to take, and the way that we know this is two fold - 1) Does the path you are taking agree with Jesus teaching in the New Testament- and - 2) When you listen very carefully in your prayer time, does the still small voice confirm it? The test you see, of Christianity is conflict, any time that anything conflicts with Christianity, that conflict is a measure of the...

"We can't possibly be that stupid," what sort of measure would you use?  Humankind has now built cities that stretch up into the heavens- the worlds tallest building, (we might see it painted in the blood of those who shed their valiant blood on the sand to pay for the oil that built it)  at present in Dubai, shows so clearly how cities get bigger and taller and yet, oddly, don't they become, less habitable, which you can read as - SMOG- pollution and the offshoot of what we call, progress.  God called it gardening, and in the grand design lacking greed God would have had us plant and manage and work under His guidance.  Today we strive mightily to ignore God 24/7 except when there is a personal or larger disaster, then we cry about God and ask with arrogant stupidity- "how can God allow this to happen."  God doesn't allow "this to happen," God has been trying for centuries to get the free will of man to understand His control; and we resist. ...

Hatred is an interesting emotional experience because it leaves you feeling like you put something into the fracas, but what came out didn't add up, it's an odd feeling of having done less than you needed.  My first encounter with hatred was early in life, we were poor, my father either didn't care about us, or, just simply couldn't handle being a "dad," so he left us when I was two, or so when my folks were alive, they would tell me.  What happened then is, we became poor, mom worked at jobs that didn't pay much, the family tried to make ends meet, but work hard as they could, they never quite seemed to catch a break above even, and mom and I always were the poor end of the family gathered, and they hated us for being poor.  My friends in school didn't hate me for being poor, but their parents did- odd thing about parents of well off kids, they don't trust poor kids, you know "well why aren't they better off if they're honest hard wor...

Have you ever found he or she not hearing what you are saying? Ever wonder why? It was clear, to you, it was very clear, and obvious, and yet the person you were talking to, they just didn't get it. Maybe you've even read that they are from Mars or Venus, only, you aren't? Maybe your confusion seems like something that just shouldn't be, and you are tired of it- does that sound about right? Would you like to be able to talk to them without them misunderstanding what you are saying? If you think yes on that one, we have something you will love- just fill in the subscription block on this page and we'll be getting back to you with what is a very wise, very deeply spiritual, very meaningful set of truths and ways of "talking from the heart," which will change your bad situation and bad results (you might say, "no lovin'") into something which is hard to believe in terms of real and deep feeling. This isn't a method, methods can fail, this is...

Iran celebrates Nuclear Day today and it is as bad as it sounds.  If you had a juvenile delinquent criminally minded child that said that they were going to burn your house down, AND, they had the matches to do it, AND, they showed you their matchbook - as they turned to walk to the gas station- they said, "I'll be back with the gas to set this fire."  What would you do, wait until they were in the yard with the red plastic tank of gas before you got alarmed?  Here is the problem in a nutshell- we're being warned right now; if we don't act, we will inherit what happens as a result of that.  Here are your Congress persons contact number U.S. wide , you need to call them.  Here is the Headquarters page for the Tea Party - who knows - maybe you can get their attention on this?  Now for those who say this isn't biblical - it certainly is, we are told in the Bible that we are to " prepare for war in times of peace. "  You can believe that or not, the Pr...

We are so used to shooting ourselves in the foot that we've lost track of what appealing means.  What appeals to someone who loves the Lord Jesus and is following Him, doesn't appeal to somebody who isn't like that- the world outside of Christ and church doesn't have a thing to do with spiritual matters.  Christian's have forgotten this, while not listening to the voice of Jesus on the matter.  What do you think feeding the five thousand was really all about?   Yes, it was a declaration in action of being the Messiah, the "bread of life," practically nobody can contest that, but is that it?  Of course not, look, lets get straight about something when it comes to miraculous events and how they are remembered - either Jesus (and Paul) meant it, or they didn't, either Jesus is good to His word on this one:  " Jhn 5:20 For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that y...

Prayer - going to God to be with God in the most private of ways imaginable.  Believing God will hear you, and, knowing God will act on what you ask, and, then; listening to what God says in response to your prayer.  Reading the Bible every day, in a set fashion so that, if you are reading books of the Bible, or, sections, that in a set amount of time, you have read it through, so that at some point you have studied the entire scripture, end to end.  One of the claims of the secular world is that fundamentalist Christian's don't know the scripture.  The unfortunate truth is just that, so, don't allow yourself the luxury of saying "aw, Jesus will forgive me," that's not the point, your here as a remnant Christian to Heaven to let others know about Jesus Christ of Nazareth, to make disciples, not just to; so called "witness," there is an enormous difference, and if you aren't making disciples, you will get to explain to Christ why you aren't.  ...

 As old as man, and back beyond man, apparently, is a divine sense of the comedy which is life.  Only God with such a sense of what must be could construct such a way to do it.  People today don't have to do many things in order to ensure that they acquire heaven- that is, if you go by the beliefs of standard evangelicals, who have seen such a numeric downsizing during the last decade in the U.S. that now they are eclipsed by the rest of the world in worship practices attendance; to those evangelicals the issue is simplifying how to tell a person they don't have to go to hell.  What those evangelicals don't realize is people don't care about it- they don't believe that they are eternal, and they don't believe that there is a hell; except the one that they are living in; the daily grind where true leadership has been turned into a mockery and actual caring is as rare as finding a diamond stone when you get out of your car in the protected parking area, because se...

"And you run and you run, to catch up with the sun, but its sinking, racing around, to come up behind you again. The sun is same, in a relative way, but your older. Shorter of breath, and one day closer to death." Pink Floyd, a band with enormous impact, a band which would record in the Beatles recording studio, Abbey Road, and a band whose album "Dark Side of the Moon," went on to become one of rock and rolls pantheon albums of all time, approaching the sales of the Beatles in popularity. Why do you suppose young folks connected so heavily to lyrics like these? Yes it's true the music was hauntigly different, but the lyrics themselves are known, repeated often, and if you ask a young person if they've heard of Pink Floyd, good chance that they have, and good chance they are familiar with these very words, they are some of Pink Floyd's most popular. Would it surprise you to know that they are, outlandish as it might sound, coming from principl...

One of the weirdest things about people is this thing that happens when they believe they have it "together," and don't need to learn or grow anymore. It is particularly weird when it concerns the area of God and relating to God, but what my experience has taught me is that a person who is arrogant in life about other things, is usually going to carry that same ignorant haughtiness into the realm of God. Such arrogance is distasteful, especially when you make an effort to share with the arrogant where they are shorting themselves of some blessings by being arrogant. If you've ever had the experience of studying some materials that are beyond belief in their wonder and majesty and you share with someone that actually could use the material about it, and they say, "well ya know - I just really don't have time for that, besides, I don't need to know stuff like that." It catches you up short a bit, because the correct answer ought always to be, ...

 So much of what we know about God, whether we like it or not, is mysterious; God clearly lets us know that His ways aren't our ways; no kidding- and His thoughts aren't our thoughts; when have any of us decided the best way to do things is to bring total destruction upon them?  God is above us, so far beyond our ability to see Him that at times just getting your brain around the fact that God is personal, can be, and should be a bit awe inspiring, and, scary?  But the God that we see in the Old Testament Hebrew seems somehow different from the impression we get of Christ?  If you note the subtle differences; God told Israel to totally wipe out groups of cities which were Baal oriented, Christ wouldn't wipe out men who had perverted the very nature of the Law which He authored?  So as you think on this, today, which historically we take as the day Jesus is entombed; as He would rise again, in three days; as you think on the power that you have within you; God in...

 We were all milling around, not really sure what to do, we'd seen wrecks before, but now we were in it.  At 75 miles per hour we'd been hit and then pushed into the car in front of us on the freeway, and so the wreck had occurred at 70 plus miles per hour.  We were hurt, but amazingly, not killed.  What you do is, you move to the side of the road, so oncoming cars don't hit you, you start...praying, as you shake.  You can see it, can't you.  It got messy fast.  Passover was a high time in worshiping God, it was a time of great love, and a time of great fear - God had shown that the firstborn of an entire kingdom, could be killed in one evening.  So much death, brought so much misery; and yet, from that, Israel was allowed to leave the enslavement that itself was misery beyond description.  So it is with the Passover as Jesus changes everything, forever; the cup which was the announcement of preparedness to leave; He said, was His blood, pour...

 One of the most challenging things that happen to Christian's without them even being aware of it, is they lose their joy, not perhaps, totally; as in depression; but they lose their sense of being joyous over Jesus.  That first lovely fresh powerful feeling that we all remember when we finally gave up the pride, finally got the weight off our hearts, and owned up to one of the most mysterious things of all, we belong to God who made us.  When we asked Jesus to forgive us of our sins, when we knew that the cross was real, and Jesus did it, and we felt that overwhelming power of forgiveness - we felt real and powerful and lasting joy for the first time.  As we smiled to those around us, if they knew, or inwardly, to ourselves as we knew, that real joy, that smile was so awesome wasn't it?  My friends sometimes get that glow going, that's what I call it, the glow- know where I'm going with this one?  Yes indeed, Moses face comin' down off the mountain, what'...

It is actually pretty funny when you think about it; what might happen, and what might not happen, and how many different people believe they have it figured out, and how many people figure they can't figure it out-and yet, there it is, in black and white; so to say.  Think about it, the playbook isn't hidden, it is "revealed," that's literally what the title says; only, guess what; in all the "revealing," have you got it straight- really?  It's also odd, in fact downright, strange; that in all the "revealing," seldom do you hear someone putting forth the idea that it's not gonna look like, note that, LOOK LIKE, folks are thinking it will.  Outlandish isn't it?  Which means, it's probably not going to happen like you think...now why would you suppose that might be?  My first input to you on this dear reader concerns the matter of what you will allow your head to get around, and what, out of just sheer being who you are, you won...

Is there a need in your life to have good news? By the time a person starts their morning with CNN or FOX or any of the morning news shows what they will have seen is despair, hopelessness and ruination on a massive scale and all before they begin their day. Am I saying to ignore the truth of the world, no, but what I am saying is to balance out that truth with a perspective that provides a difference. God does not guaranty a life without pain, but God does guaranty a life where pain is shared with Him, He promises that He won't step out, and He delivers on that promise. One of the finest examples of this that I've read is Corrie Ten Boom's story of the Holocaust expereince where God showed her constantly that He was present, that He loved her and the others and that He would not leave them alone. To such one must say, "that gives me hope," because truthfully when all else around you goes insanely off the scale, wrecks, war, earthquakes, volcanoes, global warmi...

 A sense of time, a sense of place, and a sense of who you are; put those together and you have the dynamic for success that every Guru of success today is in love with making you want to buy into.  The toughest part of that is, they are feeding you a cultural pie designed to be digested without tasting the food itself; if you buy into their design on your life, you will run through it, achieve and achieve and achieve again; only to reach a point where you suddenly and quite climatically realize, you've not understood a thing of what you really were about, and what your life was really all about.  So when you speak of destiny, perhaps, have a little extra nuance of grace and; speak softly. Isa 38:15 What shall I say? he hath both spoken unto me, and himself hath done [it]: I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul. "drd's" Blog Ooh Visit Our Twitter Group 1000 plus strong and growing! Visit our Facebook effort, it will make ya sm...

After finishing a recent read, my week is five books a week , or more, and it's basically forced reading. Someone asked me once if I speed read, truthfully, no, wish I could get the hang of that, have tried, but just force myself to read; and so, absorb five books a week. My contention is that anyone who would force themselves to consume books, could easily do the same or more; and books are important. Someone mentioned once that the only things that count in a life are the people you know and the books you read? What do you think? Does that sound true? Would the Bible, do you think, have something to say about that (hint...in the Old Testament you'll see the word wisdom? Hmm) - anyway, we know if a subject is testable as to truth, we're gonna see it in the scripture. We've seen this time and again, subjects that people believe wouldn't be in the Bible, turn out to be in the Bible and be mentioned in a relevant way. It is not odd, it is sensible, given that...